RedPepper

@Aluvaboy and @mymarriagejourney You are right about the healthcare and dependents. I don't know why my mind kept thinking otherwise, and confused it with a benefit I had abroad--so many years ago. Duh! Thank you for pointing that out. Definitely something to consider.

@mymarriagejourney That is a good idea. I did not know I could petition my brothers and mom at the same time, with my mom petitioning them again later on. That option didn't even cross my mind. THANK YOU!

24 minutes ago, Aluvaboy said:

Health care is expensive in USA. Since you are the petitioner for your mom and signing the affidavit of support, you will be responsible for her health care costs (until she becomes a citizen)! So think twice before you commit to this situation! Regarding your brothers, your mom can definitely file for them as unmarried sons over 21 years! But how long are they planning to live unmarried? 

Thank you for the response, @Aluvaboy, I have thought about the healthcare, too. I have a very good health insurance plan at work, and if I lose that job, could easily find another one doing Cybersecurity. I have no issues putting my mom on as my dependent and taking care of her. Lucky for me, my mom was truly devoted being a mother to us. I will do everything in my capacity to take care of her. 

My brothers have no girlfriends. Had relationships in the past that did not work out. At the back of my mind, that too, was a concern because they could potentially find a partner in life in a few months or years--and screw things up. The only fix is for them to not get married for a while until they're eligible to petition their partner. I did the same route with my ex-husband. We were not married for 11 years, until his petition came in. We got married after he became a US citizen. Sad, but true.

Other than that, I have not considered the repercussions on my brothers petitions if they ever get married. I will have to plan it out after I have made the decision of which petition route to take.

Hello everyone! I am a conflicted with a decision I have to make, asap. Would appreciate your advice on this case. 

I am a US Citizen looking to petition my 63 yo mom and two 30+ yo brothers over.  I know which is the faster petition route, but unsure if I should take it due to my mother's age and declining health. My 2 brothers are still single and over 30 yo. My mother is 63 years old with health fast declining due to diabetes and depression. I am a single-parent of four, sending 1 child to college, and another following suit in a year.

Short Route: Petition my 63 yo mother first, and wait for her to petition my two 30+ yo brothers later. If this is the route we take, it will take my mom 1-3 years to complete immigration process and become a permanent resident, and it will take an additional 5-10 years (or even more) for my brothers to get their visas. My apprehension? I am unsure if my mom will live long enough to complete the process. If she lives long enough, that's great! Otherwise, we'll be back to square one--which I cannot afford. Should I take my chances?

Long Route: Petition my mom and 30+ yo brothers at the same time. I have no worries about my mom's petition. I can have her here in a year or two. However, it will take my brothers at least 15 years (and in most cases 26 years on average) to wait for their visas. That's a long wait. By the time they get here, they'd be 60+ years old and starting over with their careers, with not enough retirement savings. 

My goal is to empower my mom and brothers, so  they can stand on their own two feet.

If you were me, which route will you take and why? Thank you in advance!

Oh my god, i am so happy for you. Congrats your wait is almost over na...i am calling NVC now coz i received an email and i wanna make sure its a false checklist since we sent everything.

How are things going?

I am so excited because my children are on their flight on Delta right now and will be arriving tomorrow ar 9:20pm eastern standard time! YES!

How are things going for you? I hope everything went well.

Best regards!

Hi REDPEPPER

Yeah we basically had the same thing going on... Got the same email on may19 "Your request for the expeditious processing of this immigrant visa petition is currently under review. You will be informed of the results when the review is completed." and on may22 email received was "The U.S. Embassy or Consulate is willing to expedite this case once we have all the fees, forms, and documents. " and that was on MAY!!!!

we Called nvc asked if theyre done reviewing all they say is june 4 they received my packet and will take 30 business days to complete.i asked them when they are sending it to the US embassy in Manila, no answer..Was hoping we can get an interview for july or early august. We need to go before September, it would be very stressful for my kids to adjust to the US culture, english speaking and school. I might homeschool them first till my 3rd grader gets the hang of things., although they say kids can adjust faster than adults...

Yup does not feel like it is being expedited. My husband wants us to be home so we can spend his vacation leave together in disney for a welcome home gift but i told him not to make arrangements yet till the visa is on hand.

This whole process is really stressing us out huh.. We will just have to hang in there for a little bit. will be keeping you too in my prayers. Hope our interview letter is just out there getting ready to be mailed back to us...

Keep me posted. Happy 4th too

heeey! How are you jannaDavey?

I have good news! We got an interview for August 12,2014. So--This week, I have sent out my mom with my kids for their medical examination. They are just about to have their PDOS as early as now, right after their medical exams--as I am writing you. Will just get the CFO stickers once we get their visas na. How are things going over there?

Hi Redpepper,

Nice to hear from you, was busy too coz we got flooded again, although it was only a foot of water but it's still a lot of work and stress. I am so done with this flooding. Anyway, i am also waiting for their case to be reviewed, i am expecting first week of july it would be completed, give or take. Also waiting for that interview letter... Please come early.

I called nVC last week to see how my case is going but i got a cocky operator..worthless.. So i emailed the Us embassy in manila told them we got flooded again...hopefully actions can be taken.. The scary part is i already have a return ticket for september and if they schedule us 45-60 days after the case completed, i am cutting it too close, might have to rebook $$$$$. Anyway since we live in the province i will be scheduling the medical in time with the interview and just wait for the visa in manila so we can leave right away... Stress please let it be over. Once we have our case completed, i wonder if they can schedule us early for an interview or are still following the 45-60 day rule?

Hi JannaDavey,

I am so sorry you have been through a lot and is still going through a lot! You definitely have my prayers routing out to you, too.

Well...I think they still are following the 45-60 day rule despite our request for an expedite being approved. We are now on our 30++days and yet we just received an email from NVC a week ago saying that they have already received our documents and are now being reviewed...(was not so happy about that email--our petition for the kids have been more than 3 months with NVC now and it does not feel like it is on an expedite. :-(

My children are scheduled to have their medical examination on July 14 at St Lukes although they do not have their appointment letters yet. It will take them approximately 3 days to finish the whole medical exam since they are children and the medical examination are more rigorous with the kids.

Immediately after the medical exam, they will go straight to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas to have their Peer Counseling Seminar. We live too far from Manila so we are trying to kill two birds with one stone. Once the children already got their visa, my mom already has the SPA (Special Power of Attorney) to go back to CFO and get the stickers. At least, we will not need to drag all four (4) children back to Manila just for the stickers.

Fingers crossed. I just hope all the paperwork will come in time--I was hoping the children will arrive in time for school in September.

I pray for the best for all of us! xxx

I just sent an expedite email to NVC. Was wondering how soon they contact you that they expedite the case. Should i call NVC again and tell them to have my case expedited. Anyway i hope we both get our children asap. I am just getting anxious since it gonna be wet season again and we might have another incident of flashflooding. Happy mothers day everyone

Hi JannaDavey! how have you been? Haven't heard from you lately. I have been very busy at work didn't have the time to visit VisaJourney for a while. So, how is your petition going?

3 weeks ago, we have submitted our I-864W for the children with their original signatures (and to be sure, it also included their dad signatures side by side). 3 weeks now and there is still no response from the NVC whatsoever. On Monday, i will be calling in to follow-up just to be sure everything is going smoothly. but on my last call last week they told me the papers are all said and normally takes 30days to review. Hopefully the expedite is faster--and we get our P4's the soonest possible.

My husband and I have gone to the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC in 6/20/2014 to have some paperwork certified for our children's DSWD Travel Clearance, my mother's Special Power of Attorney, and Affidavit of Consent to TRavel and Sponsor, and all the necessary paperwork we need to certify for our children's immigration.

Our 4 children ages 15, 14, 11 and 8 , will be travelling from Manila to Detroit, USA alone but will be under the Delta Unaccompanied Minors Program. we will be picking our children up in Detroit--to get to Virginia together.

For now that we are awaiting for our P4 Interview Appointment Letter, our four children are scheduled for medical exam next week, July 8. Even though we do not have the Interview Appointment Packets yet, we decided to have our children have their medical examination earlier, anyway, the medical report will be valid for 6 months--once they get their interviews, their medical reports would still be valid.

Fingers crossed. Will definitely appreciate updates from you! xxx

Hi USCParent,

I'm still contemplating on why you the CO asked for a copy of your I-864W, Can I ask how many of your kids you petitioned? Just 1 or more than 1?

If more than one, the copy is for the other person that needs I-864W, if only one, then, I guess I'll prepare to scan all my I-864 docs in preparation for his interview next month.

Thanks.

Hi merkin&regine I apologize for the late reply. I haven't been logging in lately as I am in the Philippines picking up my children. To answer your question, I have 2 children I submitted separate petitions for. As to why the CO asked for a copy of their I864W, I'm not sure, maybe the original ones I've sent to NVC weren't included in the packets NVC forwarded to the USEM? I'm not really sure why, I'm just glad I thought about sending them copies even if appointment letter I received stated that all required docs have already been forwarded to the

USEM. I filled out two I-864W, one for each of my children.

I had a similar case with my very own case. My husband has already sent out the necessary paperwork to NVC. My P4 indicated that all my documents are complete and all i have to do is go to US Embassy Manila for my interview. To my surprise, on my interview, I was told that my AOS was missing. The bad thing is, I only had photocopies with me, the original was already sent to NVC. To make it short--YES, paperwork can get lost somewhere between NVC and the US Embassy. That is the reason why the Local US Embassy may ask you original copy of this and that every now and then during the interview. BEST THING TO DO IS, ALWAYS HAVE ORIGINAL COPIES FOR BACK-UP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN so your Visa won't get delayed like mine did. I was delayed for 15 days.

Good day,

I am expecting my 8 year old daughter from the Philippines to migrate here in CA in a couple months for good. (IV visa) IR2- Is it possible for me to file a tax amendment form and claim her as my dependent. I started filing my Tax from 2006 to present... If so, what are the procedures? Can I just go to a regular H&R block offices?

Thanks in advance,

Ann

Oh I hope someone jumps in and reply to this as I'd like to know more about this myself

On this light, I had the same conversation with my accountant about this topic, and she told me that before 2010, including your children in your tax exemptions for tax credits, etc...were possible; buit recently, regulations have been strict and stripped off.

To include your children for tax exemptions/claims, they will have to have their Social Security Number with them and update your records with the IRS and your local State.

That was as per my accountant's advise. I, however, did not double check facts. Met a few people who also experienced it said the same thing.

Thank you RedPepper, actually my kids already got their visa last week.

Well, that is good news!!! Congratulations! i envy you :-P How long did your petition take? from NOA1 to NOA 2? Would love to see your immigration journey. See you around! xxx

Emailed sent yesterday, 13th of April

Dear Sir or Madam:

The National Visa Center has received all documentation necessary to complete pre-processing

of your case. As soon as an interview date has been scheduled, the applicant, petitioner

and attorney (if applicable) will be notified. YAY!

Right now the status of my case on NVC website still shows "At NVC, please follow instruction from NVC for the next step blah blah blah", will that change only when the interview has been set?

That'll change when the papers are in transit to Manila/your local embassy. Give it a week or so. :-)

Thank you for responding! Really appreciate it. Sometimes, we know we are on the right track, but we ask advice to confirm that we really are on the right track. And you just confirmed my feeling. I read that in their website as well--thank you for "backing" me "up".

Based on your suggestion, what I am going to do is photocopy our original marriage certificate for each of my children, and since I am sending all their papers at the same time, I will also include ONE original copy with cover letter that says--I am submitting a photocopy for each of my children, but sending in only one original copy for their reference.

I was told in my interview that NVC and the Embassies actually needs the originals--but it doesn't make sense to send in one original copy for EACH of our 4 children. :-P

OMG!!! Thank you everyone for the response!!! This is such a good news!

Hello redpepper , I have a similar case to you and I need your help please

My case was completed 6 month ago and I got my interview date on june but I have a 7 month son and his case still at nvc no case number yet

We do an expedite to be with mine at the interview so , I wanna ask you if they accept the expedite what's the required documents they will ask for a baby in his age ??

And they will need support for him or not ??

Thank you redpepper

Write NVC right now with the email address NVCExpedite@state.gov and NVCinquiry@state.gov.

Or write them, through your husband, on their mailing address on an overnight postal

For the reason of "extreme humanitarian reasons" ask for the expedite to be granted.

Tell them about your Case number, your situation, and your son's USCIS Case number and tell them about your situation, trying to convince them to expedite the case.

I did not send NVC anything yet--just a letter and emails asking for the expedite. Only now did they start asking for my children's requirements.

Technically, we filed out children's petition in February 2, 2014, received February 5--NOA1 was received 45 days later. NOA2 will be granted as soon as we complete and have submitted all the required documents. Goal--to finish this coming week.

I hope it works well for you.

Help! We need confirmation if we understood the I-864 and the I-864W instructions correctly.

While working on our I-864 and I-864A's, We came across a number of things in the Instructions page that caught our attention. We, seemingly, from my understanding, qualify for the WAIVING of the submission of an I-864 through I-864W. Will anybody please check if we understood the I-864 conditions right?

Condition 1#

I-863 Instructions. Are there exceptions to Who needs this form? Bullet #2. (Page 2)

Any intending immigrant who will, upon admission, acquire US citizenship under Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA)

Condition #2

I-864W Instructions. Intending child who will become a US citizen immediately upon entry under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA). Under the CCA, some children become US Citizens immediately upon admission to the United States or adjustment of Status to that of a Lawful Permanent Resident. For this classification to apply:

• At least one parent of the child is a US Citizen
• The child is under 18 years of age at the time of admission or adjustment of status
• the child is residing permanently in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the US Parent

Our situation:

Husband has been in the US for 7 years now, US citizenship thru Naturalization

Children are 15 years and below (Daughter 15, son 13, daughter 10, daughter 7 years old)

Children will be residing with daddy and mommy

Children are still abroad and is being petitioned right now, all four (4) of them

Husband and me, wife, are currently living the in the US

It just feels too good to be true. We might actually can satisfy the criteria for the exceptions. Do we, really? Am I missing something? Advice please! Thanking you all in advance!

We are petitioning for all 4 of our children, and our appeal for an expedite has been granted.

Now we are working on their Civil Documents. We understand that all the documents we should be submitting to NVC should mostly be original documents.

Question:

1. Do we need to submit 1 original marriage certificate for each of them? (1 original copy X 4 children = 4 original copies) Or should we submit just one for all of our children?
2. Can we combine 4 children in one AOS, or should we submit 1 AOS for each of our 4 children?

*NOTE:

We paid our AOS--but was required to pay only once $88 to cover for ALL of them four.

Thanking you all in advance for your advice.

Right before we got our children's case numbers, I have been contacting NVC through email using my children's USCIS number. They responded after two weeks. They said they were going to process the expedite, ONLY IF, we have already paid all necessary fees, and sent ALL the necessary documents. Seems to me, we are already approved because we were told that once everything is complete, they will send out the documents to Manila immediately. That will save us a lot of time from all the normal waiting for an NOA2. instead of 6 months... it will just be a month or 2.

1) I just email both departments: NVCExpedite@state.gov and NVCinquiry@state.gov

2) Provide them the following information:

NVC Case Number:

3) In the body of your email to them

a) explain the reason why you are asking for an expedite

b) provide your contact number

c) provide your children's contact number/s, who their guardian is, whose phone it is.

Good luck!

Yes, we did, too! just 2 days ago. We have made payments on our affidavit of support and all set with the civil papers.

We hope everything falls into place smoothly and quickly.

once our papers are all complete, NVC says they will immediately send the case to our local Embassy in Manila for processing and for interview. If my estimation is right, the children will be here in 2-3 months. Yehey!

Good luck to you too!

Let me know how it goes with NVC please. I'm still contemplating whether I should expedite with them as well. I'm really in no rush though. My main concern was getting my petition out of USCIS since the wait times there were through the roof.

Our children's petition took a total of 41 days. They received it February 5, and we got the approval in March 20, 2014. NVC should be quick--I have learned so much here on VJ on how to do the shortcuts and had a first hand experience of how "effective" it was...NVC will just a breeze!

Will also appreciate updates on your children's petition.

I'm in the same boat as you RED PEPPER. My usc husband filed an i-130 for my two minor kids. We went to our congressman to help them expedite my petition since we where hit by flooding and it says that they will expedite the petition but i checked the status it is still initial review. Files received at nvc on feb12,march 21 congressman received the correspondence from nvc that they will expedite my request. And i am just waiting for the days ...I AM GOING HOME IN THE PHILIPPINES ON MARCH 26 to see them and assess the damage since the house was affected. I am hoping during my stay i can bring my kids with me since i am only a greencard holder... I will be reading your updates. Best of luck for all of us

My dear Janna, I am sorry to hear about the flooding in your place back home. I hope despite the damages and the losses you may have incurred, I do pray that your family and everybody you care about are safe!

We sent in our petition for our kids and together with a letter appealing for an expedite. We got the USCIS approval in March 20, 2014--which is a total of only 41 days since after USCIS received our application. For now, we are awaiting for our children's papers to be confirmed "received" by NVC and be given a case status. What my husband and I will do now is to write NVC for a request for an expedite.

I understand that there will be a need for us to wait for our children's NVC Case Numbers before we can request for an expedite, but we sure will write NVC now hoping that they will accept and are given a heads up on our children's case. Will be worth the try.

Fingers crossed.

Will keep all of you updated! best regards!

Congrats RedPepper! God bless I'm sure you will shine in your work

Will do my best, thank you! Siyempre iba pa rin talaga ang husay nating mga Pinoy. Kailan ba tayo Hindi naging bida sa kahit saan?

One thing you might check/ask is if they are having difficulties "investigating" you (I am assuming that is the typical background check). I am a US citizen but I was living with hubby in India for the past 5 years. When I came back to US in July it took longer than normal for my background check. They had difficulties verifying my employment while in India. I had to tell them what the time difference was and when/who to call to verify my employment. This took extra time and since I am a US citizen it obviously had nothing to do with my I9 so possibly this is something they are having trouble with for you.

The more info you can volunteer and provide to help move your background check the better! I say call, explain the situation (that you were previously employed ONLY overseas) and see what you can do to help move it along.

Thank you for the advice! have been annoyingly and persistently checking my background check results almost everyday--I do volunteer requirements to them to help expedite the background checks...whatever they need to facilitate ease of the cerification.

I also continuously communicate with my company's outsourced "background checker" they are working with--ever heard of GIS?

Will be calling HR again tomorrow.

Congrats!!!!!!!

How long did it take u to get your work permit and how long did you apply before you got a job? May I also know what job you were able to get? I'm sure you're so excited. It must bring so much satisfaction to know that you and your husband are hand in hand now in helping each other towards your future

Hello there!

Work permit? I don't have a work permit. My petition is an IR1--Green card with no conditions. My US Immigrant Visa carries a temporary one-year I-551 (Green card) with work authorization automatically attached to it. That's why it's easy for me.

Customer Service Representative at a well known insurance company here. Got lucky, I guess. ***wink wink

Hope you are all doing great! Best regards!

First of, to everyone who responded here...did i tell you guys and to the VJ administrators and contributors and members--how it never fails to amaze me how helpful this forum is! Gosh! I have new friends here who are petitioning someone and have strongly recommended they should join VJ!

I "consolidated" all the information and advise you all gave me and wrote quite a comprehensive email explaining to them everything...I just got an email this morning telling them "I AM CLEARED" Yehey!!!!!! Well that is--where the Green Card requirement is concerned.

The only one pending is my Criminal Record verification/Police Clearance. I hope it does not take too long!

Congrats on the fast job. My wife had to go through a background check for the company she works with. The wanted her NBI and wanted to get it themselves. We provided a copy of the NBI, but they still went and obtained their own copy, regardless that their web site stated providing a copy was good enough. Took over a month to finally get her clearance, mainly due to the time it took to get the NBI.

Thank you very much Caryh! I got that a lot recently--yes, was a fast job. I already gave myself a pat on the back for it.

Maybe...I am just really good! harharhar! Kidding aside, I think it's all about mind setting.

As soon as I got my Social Security Card, I applied online right away! Then after two days, went to a Job fair in town they signed up with--there, I spoke to their HR rep and made a follow up on my online application

...the next day I got scheduled for a phone interview; and the rest is history!

The secret? If Plan A didnt work, Plan B was--GO BACK TO PLAN A. Nothing can trully stop you if you put your mind and heart and soul into it.

***wink wink***

P.S.

I also have provided them with my Police Clearance (national and local certificates) from back home which I got right before I left the country...they told me this is the only thing that is pending...I have 2 more days...I hope it gets done by Friday this week! Fingers crossed!

I will have to email HR to tell them to consider my police clearance that I have on hand--in the meantime, while waiting for the police clearance done by them. I would tell them, "since it was accepted by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Visa Center anyway, I wouldn't be here if I had a criminal record" Would I?

Noted! Reading on this. Thank you very much!

I am actually smiling right now. Vital information you have here. For sure, they cannot say no anymore.

Show the employer these sites.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/51744446/List-of-Legal-Work-Papers

http://nevadalawhelp.org/resource/citizenship-and-immigration-status-discrimina?ref=Yl2FD

At the least, tell them to use Google.

Tell your employer that you will contact an attorney from the US State Department to file a discrimination complaint for refusing to accept the stamp. If they continue to discriminate, then call to file a complaint.

Noted! Reading on this. Thank you very much!

I am actually smiling right now. Vital information you have here. For sure, they cannot say no anymore.

Show the employer these sites.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/51744446/List-of-Legal-Work-Papers

http://nevadalawhelp.org/resource/citizenship-and-immigration-status-discrimina?ref=Yl2FD

At the least, tell them to use Google.

Tell your employer that you will contact an attorney from the US State Department to file a discrimination complaint for refusing to accept the stamp. If they continue to discriminate, then call to file a complaint.